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Uggla pushes hit streak to 28 in final at-bat

Uggla pushes hit streak to 28 in final at-bat

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Uggla extends streak to 28 games 0:38

8/7/11: Dan Uggla rips a single to right in the eighth to extend his hitting streak to 28 games

By Mark Bowman
/
MLB.com |

NEW YORK -- When his batting average sat below .200 a month ago, Dan Uggla was mockingly associated with Mario Mendoza. Now as he continues to build Major League Baseball's best current hitting streak, he is more appropriately linked to Joe DiMaggio.

Uggla extended his hitting streak to 28 games with an eighth-inning single in Sunday afternoon's 6-5 victory over the Mets at Citi Field. He is now halfway to matching the Major League record DiMaggio set with a 56-game hitting streak in 1941.

"It's kind of crazy to do something like this and you're only halfway," Uggla said. "That's what tells you how special his record is, which is why it will probably never be broken."

There is obviously little reason to think Uggla will come close to flirting with breaking DiMaggio's hallowed mark. But it should also be remembered the few thought he was even capable of constructing a respectable hitting streak when he was batting .173 when this streak began on July 5.

All-time Atlanta hit streaks

The longest hitting streaks in Braves history:

#

Player

Year

31

Rico Carty

1970

29

Rowland Office

1976

28

Dan Uggla

2011

28

Marquis Grissom

1996

Uggla did not surpass the Mendoza line until July 27, when he was 18 games into the streak. The .220 batting average he sports is his second-highest average of the season. He was batting .222 after an April 7 game against the Brewers.

Uggla's 28-gamer stands as the third-longest streak in Atlanta history and matches the one Marquis Grissom constructed in 1996. Rico Carty owns the Atlanta record at 31 games in '70. Rowland Office had a 29-game streak in '76.

Atlanta rookie first baseman Freddie Freeman went hitless in Sunday's series finale to snap his career-best hitting streak at 20 games.

Uggla will attempt to extend his hitting streak against the Marlins, the team that employed him for each of his first seasons before trading him to the Braves in November.

"It's always fun to go back to Miami to see my buddies and also compete against them," Uggla said.

Mark Bowman is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.